


Ink

by catgirl220



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Heartrate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 18:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6436126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catgirl220/pseuds/catgirl220
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world the name of whoever you give your heart to shows up on your skin, Kim tries to keep himself detached from his classmates. He soon realizes that he's fighting a losing battle, but Kim has never been one to give up, despite certain people who keep worming their way into his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ink

 

Kim’s skin started out fairly blank. His parents’ names were the only words marking his arm when he was two years old. 

By the time he was five, Kim had started to play with another boy from the neighborhood, a smart, shorter boy named Max. A week after he had met his new friend, a new name appeared in the crook of his elbow. 

Kim ran up to his mother. “Maman, why do I have Max’s name written on my skin? I didn’t put it there.” 

His mother laughed, kneeling to her young son’s level. “But you have my name on your skin, right Kim? And Papa’s?” 

Kim checked. “Yes.” 

“It’s something that happens to everyone. No one really knows why, but whenever you love someone, their name appears on your skin.” The woman swept her long hair to the side, revealing the back of her neck. “See, _mon champion_? There’s your name, because I love you.” 

Kim screwed up his nose. “So is Papa’s name on your skin somewhere?” 

“Yep. It’s on my back.” 

“But I’m not gonna marry Max!” The young boy protested. “And I’m not his kid, either!” 

His mother laughed. “No, no, Kim. You don’t have to marry someone or be related to them to love them. For some reason, the names of your friends—the ones you truly care for—show up on your skin too. That’s a kind of love, too, tiger.” 

Kim nodded in understanding. “Like you have Madame Joan’s name on your skin, but she’s just your friend.” 

“Exactly! Get it now?” 

“Yes, Maman.” 

Kim showed Max his new marking the next day, pleased when Max revealed a tattoo on his own leg bearing Kim’s name. It was a big step, and they both knew it. 

Max spent the next fifteen minutes telling Kim everything he knew about the tattoo system (and some things Kim are sure he made up). 

Kim cut the lecture off with a “Race you!” and a head start towards the swings. Max grumbled good-naturedly and ran to keep up. 

 

When Kim was seven, he met a girl named Sylvie on the playground. She had black corkscrew curls and big blue eyes, and Kim thought that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

He woke up the next day with her name sprawling across his stomach. Seeing her name there made his insides clench. But it wasn’t entirely a bad feeling. 

He didn’t tell his parents. 

A few months later, Sylvie moved away. Kim was somewhat glad, and a little bit heartbroken. Her name vanished after a few more months. 

 

Kim is fifteen years old now, in his first year of high school. His skin is still fairly blank, although a few more friends have joined the slew of names marking his body. 

But he is careful, maybe too careful, about who he gives his heart to. If people see a jock, someone trying too hard to be cool, with his body covered in names, what will they think of him? 

So he hides behind the persona he has created for himself, letting Max in and a few chosen others. At least, that was his plan. 

His plan fails right away when he gets into his second year. Kim has known most of these other sixteen year olds for most of his life, but he had chosen to stay somewhat away from them. 

But then Alya Césaire plops down next to him before class one day, pulling out her phone and firing questions about fitness and sports and has he ever broken a bone? Has he ever broken someone else’s bone? What’s his greatest accomplishment to date?

Kim doesn’t quite know what to say, especially when Marinette Dupain-Cheng sits down next to Max and starts reprimanding Alya for being rude. 

Marinette offers him a smile and a box of baked goods. Alya apologizes and slows down, letting conversation flow more naturally. Marinette, Kim finds, is creative and caring, if a little spacey. Alya is blunt, stubborn, and a spitfire. 

Kim goes to the bathroom and finds two more names scrawled in black ink onto his skin. 

 

He knows who Nino is, of course, but doesn’t spend any time with him until one bored afternoon doing a chemistry project at Nino’s house. They start talking about music and rhythm. Later, they start goofing around in class together—firing paper airplanes at the other’s heads and having video game marathons with Max. 

A week later, Nino’s name appears slanted across Kim’s collarbone. The athlete pulls his sweatshirt up and sighs. This is really getting out of hand. 

 

Kim is friendly with his other classmates, but he stops himself from getting too close. He is cheerful enough to be considered decent, but no new names appear on his skin. 

The tattoo thing is interesting, however. Kim finds himself watching his classmates, and noticing the names they have inked on their bodies. 

Rose is covered in ink. Names on her skin barely finish before a new one ends, intertwining with one another like black vines. Juleka’s skin is even less marked than Kim’s. Rose’s name is inked on the back on Juleka’s hand, and Kim assumes that the names of her family members are hidden under long sleeves, from the glimpses he’s got. 

Once, while helping Marinette fix her hair, Kim caught sight of a small name, just under the hem of Mari’s collar. He looked closer at the back of the girl’s neck and had to hold back his laughter. 

Alya gave him a knowing smirk and makes a _shh_ sign. Kim keeps the secret faithfully. He’s not entirely sure to this day if Marinette knows she has _Chat Noir_ tattooed onto the back of her neck, but he never mentions it again. 

 

A new name appears on Kim’s skin, slanting on his ribs. Kim has been expecting it for a while now. 

_Chloé Bourgeois._

She is gorgeous and flippant, drawing him in with cruel smiles and snide remarks before casting him back out with the wave of a well-manicured hand. Kim knows that she is mean, and he shouldn’t like her, but. Well. Kim is mean too sometimes, and he likes a challenge. 

After the St. Valentine’s Disaster, as Nino keeps calling it, Max stops encouraging Kim to ask Chloé out. Her name lingers on his skin for a few more weeks before it finally disappears. 

He is glad to see it go. 

 

The first time Kim met Alix, he told her snidely that the middle school was around the corner. 

She responded that the park was down the street, and she didn’t know pine trees could talk. 

Kim huffed, unable to think of a better comeback, and turned away. Alix smirked as she watched him go. _This should be fun._

Some people say that their rivalry began there. Others think that the interaction was just sowing the seeds, and that the true rivalry began later. Kim doesn’t worry too much about the exact details. He only knows that he is going to prove to Alix Kubdel that she messed with the wrong person.

This is easier said than done. Alix can match him in wit, as proven by their long bickering matches (Alya records some of them), and speed (proven by multiple races, the victories of which are usually split equally between them). 

After about two weeks, Kim finds that the original malice is gone, replaced by friendly competition. He starts to look forward to seeing Alix and finding new ways to beat her. 

One of the schemes Max comes up with is arm-wrestling. Here, Kim would have the upper hand (quite literally). 

“No way.” Alix says when he challenges her. “You’re twice my size!” 

“Scared, Tinkerbell?” He teases. 

She scowls. “No. But this is unfair.” 

“You’ve beaten him in most other dares,” Max puts in. “It is statistically possible that you can beat him in this one, too.” 

Alix refuses again, but Kim can tell that this time she’s thinking about it. 

“Alright,” she finally agrees, “But if you win, you have to stop pestering me for a week.” 

“Oh, you’re on,” Kim says, grinning broadly. “And if you win, you have to…do the same.” 

“Not very creative, are you?” Alix asks. 

“I’ll put my creativity aside for the chance of not hearing you nag me for seven days.” 

“Deal.” The short girl says, sighing. “Ready?” 

“Right now?” 

“Why not? Too chicken?” 

“You wish.” 

The class gathers to watch them. Kim spots Nino taking bets out of the corner of his eye as Ivan carries over a small table. 

They kneel on either side of it. Kim is grinning, and Alix has that look on her face that she gets whenever her adrenaline is kicking in. Kim recognizes it as the look of someone about to go on the warpath. 

They lean their elbows on the table, clasp palms. 

“Ready?” Max says. “Three…two…one…start!” 

“Go, Kim!” “C’mon Alix!” “Yeah!” “You can do it!” “Show him who’s boss!” 

They struggle for a while, grappling back and forth. After longer than he expected, Kim slams the back of his opponent’s hand onto the table and holds it there. 

“One, two, three, yeah!” The class cheers. 

“Kim is the Arm-Wrestling Champion!” Max yells. 

“Good game.” Kim tells Alix. 

“Yeah, you too.” She says grudgingly. “But hey, at least I won’t have to deal with you bugging me at all for a week!” 

Max is still proclaiming his friend’s victory when Marinette steps forward. “I’ll challenge him.” 

There is a chorus of _ooh’_ s from the teenagers gathered there. 

“ _You_ would challenge the champion?” Max says incredulously. 

Alix steps aside graciously. “Go ahead, Mari. Take his ego down a few notches.” 

They take positions, Marinette smiling quietly. Kim watches her warily. His current opponent likes to sew—she shouldn’t have strong arms. _So why is she grinning to herself like that?_  

They push against each other for only a few seconds before Marinette slams Kim’s arm down and holds it there. 

The crowd is speechless, then goes crazy, chanting “Marinette! Marinette!” 

“Looks like she put you in your place,” Alix says, crossing her arms cheerfully. 

He sticks his tongue out at her. “I need to find out what her arm workout is.” 

“I know!” Alix laughs. “Where do you think those muscles came from?” 

“Hey, you two! No interactions!” Chloé calls. 

 _Right._ Alix walks away, and Kim turns back to congratulate Mari, ready for a blissful week without Alix’s taunts. 

 

He makes it through four days (including the weekend) before running to Max’s house and pounding on the door. 

“Is everything…okay?” Max says, raising an eyebrow at his best friend. 

“No!” Kim pants. “It’s not! Can I come in?” 

Max opens the door wider, and Kim hurriedly enters the kitchen, pacing back and forth. 

“So, what’s the problem?” 

“It’s Alix!” 

Max pushes his glasses up and smirks. “Ah. Alix.” 

“Alright, so you know we made that agreement not to talk to each other for a whole week, yeah? Except it’s kinda like a challenge, and I just _know_ she’s waiting for me to crack first!” Kim grabs his hair. “And every day after school, she just walks by and _ignores_ me when we’re standing out there with Nathanaël or someone! And normally she’d stop and hang out with us but noooo Mademoiselle Kubdel just sticks her nose in the air and skates away and it’s _driving me insane!”_

Kim takes a deep breath, done ranting, and looks to see his friend’s reaction. Max closes his mouth (which he realizes had been hanging open for some time) and clears his throat. “You want to interact with her before the seven days are up?” 

“Yes! No! Gah…I don’t know.” 

“Hmm…Probability of Alix finding your forfeit endearing: Sixty-nine percent. The probability of her being annoyed by it is thirty-one percent.” 

“What are the chances of me being mocked by the whole class?” 

“Erm. Very high.” Max adjusts his glasses nervously. “About…one hundred percent?” 

“That’s what I thought,” Kim says glumly. He plops down onto a stool. “I’ll just have to suck it up and ride it out.” 

“You can do it,” Max tells him faithfully. “You’re the most determined person I know. And if you need, I’ll tape your mouth shut.” 

 

Kim manages to get through the next few days without Max forcing his mouth closed, thanks. He tries not to even look at Alix, which is hard because she sits in front of him. It would be so easy to just reach over and pull some of that outrageously pink hair—but Kim restrains himself. 

At last, Friday rolls around. At the end of the day, Kim saunters over to where Alix is waiting expectantly. 

“Well, the week is over. I suppose my life will never be so quiet again,” She remarks when he reaches her. 

“I’m surprised you lasted this long, Smurfette. I’ll be honest, I thought you would be throwing yourself at me after one day without my presence.” 

She snorts. “You wish.” 

They turn and walk in opposite directions. Alix’s hands are in her pockets and she is grinning widely to herself. Kim is whistling jauntily as he catches up to Adrien and throws an arm around the other boy’s shoulders. 

Later that day, Kim looks in the mirror and finds the name _Alix Kubdel_ curving across his shoulder. He also finds that he doesn’t really mind. 

 

“You know,” Max says one day. “You don’t have to be so careful about your tattoos.” 

They are sitting on the couch playing a video game. Kim is losing, and it takes him a second before he registers Max’s words. 

“What do you mean?” The Korean boy asks, looking up from the screen. 

Max maneuvers his avatar around an obstacle. “It’s pretty obvious. You don’t let people get close to you because you don’t want their names on you. I don’t know exactly why, maybe vanity—”

“What’s your point?” Kim says, spotting a sniper aiming at them and making his character launch a grenade. 

“No one will judge you by how many names you have or not. We won’t care.” 

“Our class won’t care,” Kim corrects. “Other people might.” 

“Or they might not. What are you scared of?” 

“I’m not _scared_ —” Kim’s character dies a sudden gruesome death. “Damn it. You win again.” 

“Go easy on yourself,” Max says as Kim stands up to leave. They both know that he’s not talking about the game. 

 

Alix follows him out of the classroom to his locker. She says his name softly. 

It is a few weeks after his conversation with Max about letting people in. Alix has been noticing Kim acting weird all day—he lashes out randomly at people and sits slumped at his desk. (Alix was surprised that no one got akumatized from the way he’s been acting.) They are alone right now. Everyone else is avoiding Kim.

The boy in question ignores her, closing his locker with a thump. 

“Talk to me,” Alix says. “What’s wrong?”

He scowls down at her, but she can tell that his heart’s not in it. “Mind your own business, shortstack.”

She scowls right back. “Nope. What’s the matter with you?”

“What’s it to you?” 

“Don’t change the subject. Man, if you were a girl I’d think you were on your period—you’re upstaging Chloé today!” 

The situation is absurd, Kim thinks. He’s being stared down by a person half his height. But no one can derail Alix when she sets her mind to something, so he sinks down with his back against the lockers. 

“Today was…a rough day.” 

“I’d never have guessed.” She sits down next to him, knocking their shoulders together. “What’s the matter?” 

He sighs. “My great-uncle… was the best man you’d ever meet. He could have been an Olympic runner, you know. He got qualified to go and everything.” 

“Really?” Alix asks. 

Kim stares at his knees. “Yeah. But his wife needed a bone marrow transplant. So he gave it to her the day before he was supposed to go. He never made it to the Olympics, but he was never bitter about it. Can you imagine, giving up your dream just like that?” 

Alix rests her hand on his shoulder. 

“Whenever I’d ask him about it, he’d look at my great-aunt and say, ‘she’s the only gold I need in my life.’ He passed away last year. Today. I'm just... I'm just afraid that one day I'll look down and his name won't... be there, you know? On my skin.” 

The girl beside him swallows. “I’m so sorry, Kim. He sounds like a great guy.” 

He looks at her and smiles. “Yeah. He was.” 

They stay there for a moment before Alix stands up. “Come on, Hercules. Mylène and I are going out for _limonade_ , and you’re coming with us.” 

“I thought you said everyone was mad at me.” 

“Eh,” She waves her hand. “They’re not that much. Some are a little hurt, but mostly everyone’s just concerned.” 

“I don’t know, Alix…”

“No. You don’t have a choice.” The pink-haired girl grabs his hand and pulls. “Let’s go! I’ll race you to the front door.” 

“You can’t be serious. I’d have to apologize to everyone.” 

“Running always cheers you up,” She says. “And it’s just Mylène and me, why not?” 

He stands up with an exaggerated groan. “Fine.”

“First one to knock Miss Bustier’s papers to the floor gets five points!” Alix laughs and runs away. 

“Hey, you’re cheating!” Kim yells, following her. 

Alix looks back at the boy steadily catching up to her. _Your great-uncle would be so proud of you,_ she thinks as Kim passes her with a grin. _He’s not the only one._

 

“Hey, Rose you’re all about fairies and rainbows and stuff, right?” Kim asks, turning around in his seat. 

Alix snorts from behind him. He turns around and makes a face at her before looking back at Rose expectantly. 

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” The blond says sweetly. 

“Awesome! And… do you know about nymphs?” 

“Oh, not this again,” Alix says, leaving her seat to perch on Kim’s desk. “Beefcake over here was bugging me about this _all_ last night. Seriously, there needs to be a limit on how many texts you can send someone in a row.” 

Kim wonders what would happen if he pushed her off the table. 

“What’s going on?” Rose asks. 

“So, like nymphs in Ancient Greece lived in streams and stuff, right?” 

“Yes, they did,” Max chimes in. Most of the class’s attention has been caught by now, and they are staring at Kim curiously. 

“What did they do in the winter?” 

Rose stares at him, stunned. 

 _“Mon Dieu,”_ Alya whispers under her breath. Marinette giggles, at a loss for words. 

“No, seriously!” Kim says. “Did they hibernate under the ice or like go on vacation somewhere else?” 

“Maybe they just didn’t have winter in Ancient Greece,” Ivan suggests. 

“No, the upper part gets very cold in the winter,” Max recites. “Maybe nymphs were just in the South?” 

Chloé scoffs. “Obviously they went back up to Olympus until the water unfroze.” 

“But how could they take care of their streams if they were in Olympus?” Alya asks, always eager to disagree with Chloé. 

Soon enough, the class is arguing over one another. Sabrina is writing a list of theories on the board while Nino and Alya research avidly. 

“I can’t believe you got the class fighting about history before school’s actually started,” Alix says in his ear. 

Kim grins and winks. She sticks her finger in her mouth and pretends to barf. 

“What is going on in here?” The teacher says, walking in. 

Alix and Kim look at each other and try to hide their laughter.

 

She comes into school one day with a black baseball cap perched precariously over her hair. Really, it’s just asking for him to steal it. 

Kim sneaks up behind Alix and snatches the hat from her head, holding it teasingly above himself. 

“Hey, give it back!” She yells, blue eyes narrowing. 

“Come up here and get it,” Kim taunts. 

Alix makes a sound very close to a growl. “Not all of us are freakishly tall like you. Ivan! Help me out!” 

The boy in the skull shirt shakes his head, walking away. “Uh, sorry Alix. I’ve promised not to interfere.” 

“What?” She basically shrieks. “Kim, when I get finished with you…”

“You’ll have to grow a few feet first!” He teases, taking the hat and running away. 

She follows him, swearing loudly. When the stream of curses stops suddenly, Kim turns around to see if she’s alright. He finds her leaping through the air above him with a feral yell, arms outstretched like a panther who’s sighted their prey. 

Kim lets out an “Ahh!” before Alix crashes into him, grabbing the hat from his hand and dropping back down to the ground. 

“What was that?” He asks. 

The girl can’t answer. She is grabbing her sides and laughing hysterically. “Your face!” Alix manages to get out before the giggles overtake her again. 

“Yeah, yeah, very funny.” 

“Oh, I can’t breathe! You should have seen yourself!” Alix imitates his look of pure terror, cackling. 

“I’m sure I didn’t look like _that._ ” 

“Oh no, Hercules, you definitely did. Whoo!” Alix manages to get herself under control, pointing a stern finger at the taller boy. “That’s what you get for stealing my hat.” 

He has the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not.” 

“No, I’m not.” Kim’s phone beeps and he reads the message with a sigh. “Gotta go. Later, you flying squirrel _._ ” 

“Don’t call me that!” She shouts at his retreating back. He waves in response. 

Alix lets him get a good distance away before she collapses into laughter again. 

 

Kim realizes that, without meaning to, he has been taking Max’s advice. The names of his classmates show up more frequently on his skin now, and he doesn’t find himself minding as much. 

Max passes by once when Kim is working out, listing barbells shirtless in the gym. 

“You’ve got a lot of names on your skin,” the bespectacled boy remarks. 

“What?” Kim looks down and realizes that Max has never seen this much of his torso, which definitely has more names on it than he remembered. “Oh, yeah. I guess.” 

“So, when are you and Alix going to start dating?” Max says, sitting down on a bench with his homework. 

Kim chokes and almost drops the weight on his foot. “What?” 

Max looks up at him with a raised eyebrow. “You heard me.” 

Kim stares at him for a minute before hastily putting his weights down. “I, uh…I have to go!” 

He grabs his shirt as he runs out of the door, bonking into the doorframe on his way out. Max watches him go, chuckling. 

 

It takes him three tries to call her. Kim clicks the name in his phone, watching it start to call her, and promptly hangs up. 

 _Man up._ He thinks in exasperation.  _Third time’s the charm._

“ _Allô?_ ” Alix answers. 

“Hey, Alix!” He says. “It’s Kim. I mean, obviously you knew it was Kim, cuz my contact’s in your phone, but—”

“What do you want, meathead?” Alix asks, but she sounds more amused than annoyed. 

“Right! Uh, do you want to hang out?” 

“Sure!” Alix says, flopping down onto her bed. “When?” 

“Wait, really? You want to?” 

“Sure, Kim. When?” 

“Oh, uh…how about tomorrow? Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually agree!” 

She makes a face at the phone. “What are you talking about?” 

“Nothing!” 

“Oookay. So, running in the park tomorrow?” 

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow, Tinkerbell.” 

“ _À demain_ , rockhead.” 

Kim hangs up the phone and punches the air. “Yes!” 

 

Alix meets him in the park the next day. They jog around a few blocks, stopping at the Dupain-Cheng bakery after the run. 

Marinette gives them a bag of cookies and a knowing smirk, which makes Kim blush and Alix confused. 

He walks her back to her house, trying to see if Alix can catch cookies in her mouth if he throws them. (She can.) 

For some reason, Kim looks nervous as they stand on the front step. “You know, I didn’t think you would agree,” He remarks to Alix. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” She asks, laughing. “Friends hang out together, and you can be pretty fun sometimes.” 

His face falls. “Friends. Right.” 

Alix stares at him, confused. Suddenly, the pieces start falling into place. His nervousness. Marinette’s ‘shipping-face’ that Alix has seen before when the black-haired girl looks at Alya and Nino. 

“Kim,” Alix asks slowly. “Was this a date?” 

His mouth drops open in disbelief before he shuts it again quickly. “I mean, no—it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want—”

“You asked me out on a date!” Alix yells. 

“Um, yeah? I did.” 

Kim is utterly confused when the petite girl starts laughing, blue eyes wide open like she’s had a realization. 

Alix points a triumphant finger at him. “You! Asked me out!” 

“Look,” Kim says. “I don’t really understand what’s happening right now.” 

“Me neither.” Alix grins up at him. “But…okay.” 

“Okay?” 

She looks at him pointedly, and it hits him. 

“Wait! You mean, okay? Okay, you want to da—”

“Yes.” She cuts him off. “Is that…?”

“Yeah,” Kim says. “That’d be great.” 

“Okay then.” Alix smiles. 

He grins back. “We’ll have to do something about the height difference.” 

 

A few weeks later, they’re working out together. Kim is on the floor, performing the type of sit-up where his palms have to remain touching the ground as his torso moves up and down. Alix is spotting him, sitting on his feet so they don’t fly up. 

He is only in a white tank top, and Alix notices Nino’s name slanting across Kim’s collarbone. She starts looking for others as he counts aloud. 

Max’s name is tattooed onto Kim’s elbow. Alix follows the line of his arm and finds her own name inked onto his shoulder. She smiles. 

Sometime, Alix thinks, she’ll show Kim her tattoo of his name, curving over her lower abs. (She bets she has better abs than he does, too.) In the meantime, she feels a rush of affection towards the boy in front of her. 

“Forty-nine…” Kim counts, grunting. 

He brings his torso up to his bent knees, and Alix leans forward to kiss him gently on the lips. 

She pulls away a second later, smiling sweetly at him. “Fifty.” 

Kim lets himself fall back down to the ground, staring at the ceiling dazedly. He hears Alix laugh and almost expects to see a cartoon heart floating happily in the air above his head. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tenses? What are those? 
> 
> (Also, Kim's question about nymphs is one that haunts me as well.) Thanks for reading!


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